    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 29, 2004]
    [Pages 2835-2841]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Columbus, Ohio
    October 29, 2004

        The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thank you all for
    being here. Thank you all for coming. Laura and I
    are honored so many of you came out to say hello. You've lifted our
    spirits.
        I also want to thank Governor Schwarzenegger for coming. It's such an honor to have him here in
    Columbus and campaigning on my behalf. You know, he and I share some
    things in common. We both married well. [Laughter] We both have trouble
    speaking the English language. [Laughter] We both got big biceps.
    [Laughter] Well, two out of three ain't bad. [Laughter]
        It's great to be back in Columbus. I don't know if you know this or
    not, but my grandfather was raised here. So why don't you send a home
    boy back to Washington? We love campaigning in your State. Ohio is a
    wonderful place. I'm campaigning hard to let people know that I've got
    an agenda for 4 more years.
        Perhaps the most important reason why you ought to put me back into
    office is so that Laura is the First Lady for 4
    more years.
        I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I
    readily concede that he does not have the waviest hair in the race.
    You'll be happy to hear I didn't pick him because of his hairdo.
    [Laughter] I picked him because he's a man of sound judgment, excellent
    experience. He's getting the job done for the American people.
        Laura and I are pleased that your Governor,
    Bob Taft, and First Lady Hope Taft are with us today. Thank you all for coming.
        Senator Mike DeWine is with us. Senator,
    thank you for being here. You need to put George Voinovich back in the United States Senate. I want to thank
    Congressman Pat Tiberi for his leadership.
    I want to thank Congressman Dave Hobson and
    Carolyn for being with us today. We're
    honored you are here. I want to thank my friend Deborah Pryce in the United States Congress, who is here.
        I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, who is with us. The Supreme Court of Ohio Chief
    Justice is with us. We've got a lot of State
    and local officials here. We are honored with your presence.
        I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I want to
    thank my friend Jo Ann Davidson and Doug
    Preisse. I want to thank you all, all of you
    who are making

    [[Page 2836]]

    the phone calls, putting up the signs, and turning out the vote.
        I'm here to not only ask for your vote; I'm here to ask for your
    help. I'm here to ask you to get your friends and neighbors to go to the
    polls. Turn out our fellow Republicans, fine independents, and
    discerning Democrats. Four days to go, and we're counting on your help.
    There's no doubt in my mind, with your help, we will carry Ohio again
    and win a great victory on Tuesday.
        We have a clear choice--or you have a clear choice in this campaign,
    a clear choice between two very different candidates, dramatically
    different approaches and different records. You know where I stand, and
    sometimes, you even know where my opponent
    stands. [Laughter] We both have records. I am proudly running on mine.
        This election comes down to some clear choices for America's
    families. The first choice is the most important because it concerns the
    security of your family. All progress on every issue depends on the
    safety of our families. Americans will go to the polls in a time of war
    and ongoing threats unlike any we have faced before. The terrorists who
    killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous and determined
    to strike. The outcome of this election will set the direction of the
    war against terror. The most solemn duty of the American President is to
    protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in
    this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen
    on my watch.
        Since that terrible morning, we have fought the terrorists across
    the Earth, not for pride, not for power but because the lives of our
    citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We have strengthened our
    homeland. We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence
    capabilities. We are transforming the All-Volunteer Army. There will be
    no draft. We are relentless. We are determined. We are staying on the
    offense. We're chasing the terrorists across the globe so we do not have
    to face them here at home.
        Because we led, Afghanistan is a free Nation and an ally in the war
    on terror; Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is
    making raids and arrests. Because we led, Libya is dismantling its
    weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom; and
    more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have
    been brought to justice.
        And we've got another asset at our disposal: freedom. We believe--I
    believe in the power of liberty. Think about what has happened in a
    short period of time. Young girls in Afghanistan couldn't go to school
    because the Taliban was so barbaric and backward. And if their mothers
    didn't toe the line of ideological hatred, they were taken into the
    public square and whipped and sometimes executed in a sports stadium.
    Because we acted in our own interests, because we acted to protect
    ourselves, because we upheld a doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of people
    went to the polls to vote for the President of Afghanistan. The first
    voter was a 19-year-old woman.
        Iraq will have elections in January. Think how far that country has
    come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves. Freedom is on
    the march. Freedom is taking place around this world, and America is
    more secure for it. I believe everybody longs to be free. I believe deep
    in everybody's soul, there's a yearning to live in a free society. I
    believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the
    world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
    world.
        A President has to lead our country with consistency and strength.
    In a war, sometimes your tactics change but not your principles.
    Americans have seen how I do my job. Even when you might not agree with
    me, you know what I believe and where I stand and where I intend to lead
    this

    [[Page 2837]]

    country. On good days and on bad days, whether the polls are up or the
    polls are down, I am determined to lead this Nation and win the war on
    terror.
        And I will always support the United States military. I want to
    thank those who wear our Nation's uniform. I want to thank our military
    families who are here. I want to thank the veterans who have set such a
    great example for our military. And I want to assure our military and
    their families and our veterans, we will make sure our troops have that
    which they need to complete their missions.
        That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87
    billion of supplemental funding, necessary funding to support our troops
    in harm's way. We got great bipartisan support for that request. Only 12
    United States Senators voted against the funding for our troops, 2 of
    whom were my opponent and his
    runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. When you're out gathering the vote over the next 4
    days, when you're rounding up people to go to the polls, remind them of
    this statistic: Only four Members of the United States Senate voted to
    authorize the use of force and then voted against providing the funding
    necessary for our troops in combat. Two of those four were my
    opponent and his runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You might remember the most famous quote of the 2004
    campaign. When asked about his vote on the $87 billion, Senator
    Kerry said, ``I actually did vote for the 87
    billion, before I voted against it.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now, I haven't spent a lot of time in Columbus, but I
    doubt we're going to find many people here who talk that way. [Laughter]
    He's given several explanations since about
    his $87 billion vote. Perhaps the most illustrative one of them all was
    when he said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' [Laughter]
    My fellow citizens, there is nothing complicated about supporting our
    troops in combat.
        Unfortunately, my opponent, tonight,
    continued to say things he knows are not true, accusing our military of
    passing up a chance to get Usama bin Laden
    in Tora Bora. As the commander in charge of that operation, Tommy
    Franks, has said, ``It's simply not the
    case.'' It's the worst kind of Monday morning quarterbacking. It is
    especially shameful in the light of a new tape from America's enemy. Our
    commander in Afghanistan, Tommy Franks, recently said, ``The Senator's
    understanding of events does not square with reality.'' General Franks
    said America's Special Forces were actively involved in the search for
    the terrorists in Tora Bora. And intelligence reports at the time placed
    bin Laden in any of several different countries. As General Franks said,
    ``If we'd ever known where bin Laden was, we would have gotten him.''
        Before Senator Kerry got into political
    difficulty and revised his views, he saw our actions in Tora Bora
    differently. In the fall of 2001, on national TV, he said, quote, ``I
    think we have been doing this pretty effectively, and we should continue
    to do it that way.'' Senator Kerry also went on to say about Tora Bora
    on national TV, ``I think we've been smart. I think the administration
    leadership has done it well, and we are on the right track.'' I couldn't
    have said it better myself.
        Senator Kerry's record on national
    security has a far deeper problem than election-year flip-flopping. On
    the largest national security issues of our time, he has been
    consistently wrong. When Ronald Reagan was confronting the Soviet Union
    at the height of the cold war, Senator Kerry said that President
    Reagan's policy of peace through strength was making America less safe.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!

    [[Page 2838]]

        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
        When former President Bush led a
    coalition against Saddam Hussein in 1991,
    Senator Kerry voted against the use of force
    to liberate Kuwait.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.
        In 1994, just one year after the first bombing of the World Trade
    Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in
    America's intelligence budget, so massive that even his Massachusetts
    colleague, Ted Kennedy, opposed them.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong--and we have got to be fair--Senator
    Kennedy was right. [Laughter]
        During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision
    for America, Senator Kerry has chosen the
    position of weakness and inaction. With that record, he stands in
    opposition not just to me but to the great tradition of the Democratic
    Party. The party of Franklin Roosevelt, the party of Harry Truman, the
    party of John Kennedy is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve
    in times of war and hours of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back
    on ``pay any price'' and ``bear any burden,'' and he's replaced those
    commitments with ``wait and see'' and ``cut and run.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Many Democrats in this country do not recognize their
    party anymore, and today, I want to speak to every once of them: If you
    believe that America should lead with strength and purpose and
    confidence in our ideals, I would be honored to have your support, and I
    am asking for your vote.
        We have a difference of opinion. We have a difference of opinion
    how--as how to protect our families. My opponent said America must submit to what he calls a ``global
    test'' before we commit our troops.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I'm not making that up. [Laughter] He was standing about three yards away when he said it. I
    couldn't believe it either. As far as I tell, that means our country
    must get permission before we act in our own defense. As President, I'll
    build on alliances. We'll continue to work with our friends and allies,
    but I will never turn over America's national security decisions to
    leaders of other countries.
        We have a difference of opinion as to how to protect you on this
    crucial issue. My opponent said that September
    the 11th did not change him much at all. September the 11th changed me a
    lot. I'll never forget the day I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers
    on September the 14th, 2001. I'll never forget the sights and sounds of
    that day, the workers in hardhats who were yelling at me at the top of
    their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' The worker came out of the rubble--
    policeman or a fireman, I'm not sure which one--who grabbed me by the
    arm. He looked me square in the eye. He said, ``Do not let me down.''
    From that day forward, I get up every morning thinking about how to
    better protect our families. I will never relent in defending America,
    whatever it takes.
        The second clear choice in this election concerns your family's
    budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes
    for America's families. I kept my word. We doubled the child credit to
    $1,000 per child to help moms and dads. We reduced the marriage penalty.
    We believe the Tax Code ought to encourage, not penalize marriage. We
    dropped the lowest tax bracket to 10 percent. We reduced income taxes on
    everybody who pays income taxes.
        I want you to remind your friends and neighbors about this fact:
    When I came into office, the stock market had been in serious decline
    for 6 months; and we faced a recession and corporate scandals; and the

    [[Page 2839]]

    attacks of September the 11th cost us about a million jobs in the 3
    months after that fateful day.
        But our economic policies are working. Because we increased
    consumption and encouraged investment, our economy is growing at rates
    as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We added 1.9 million new jobs in the
    last 13 months. The entrepreneurial spirit in America is strong. Small
    businesses are flourishing all across Ohio. Farm income is up in Ohio.
    The homeownership rate is at an alltime high. More minority families own
    a home than ever before in our Nation's history. The national
    unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. Let me put that in perspective for
    you: That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the
    1990s.
        I fully understand there are still people hurting in the great State
    of Ohio, but we're heading in the right direction. Your unemployment
    rate dropped from 6.3 percent to 6 percent in the month of September,
    and we added 5,500 new jobs. We're headed in the right direction.
        My opponent has plans for your family
    budget. He intends to take a big chunk out of it.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He voted against the higher
    child tax credit. He voted against marriage penalty relief. He voted
    against lower taxes. If he'd have had his way, the average American
    family would be paying $2,000 more in Federal taxes.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. That may not sound like a lot to some of them in
    Washington, but it's a lot for families right here in Columbus, Ohio. It
    helps moms and dads. It helps the small-business owners. You know, my
    opponent has been in the Senate for 20 years
    and he voted to raise taxes 98 times.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. That's five times for every year in the Senate. I'd
    call that a predictable pattern, a leading indicator. During this
    campaign, he's also made a lot of promises.
    He's promised $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending. That's trillion
    with a ``T.'' That's a lot even for a Senator from Massachusetts.
        So they asked him, ``How are you going to
    pay for it?'' And he said, ``Oh, we'll just tax the rich.'' You've heard
    that before. Be wary. See, you raise, when you run up the top two
    brackets, between 600 and 800 billion dollars. That is far short of the
    2.2 trillion he's promised. I would call that a tax gap. That's the gap
    between what he's promised and what he says he can deliver. And guess
    who usually gets to fill the tax gap?
        Audience members. We do!
        The President. Yes, you do. The good news is, he is not going to tax you; we're going to carry Ohio and win
    a great victory.
        Third--the third clear choice in this election involves the quality
    of life for our Nation's families. A good education and quality health
    care are important to a successful life. As candidate for President, I
    pledged to end the soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our
    public schools. I kept my word. We passed good education reforms. We
    believe every child can learn, and we expect every child, every school
    to teach. We increased Federal spending. But in return for Federal
    increases, we now expect State and local jurisdictions to measure. We
    understand you cannot solve a problem until you diagnose the problem.
    And we are diagnosing and we are solving problems all across America.
    Test scores are up in reading and math. We're closing an achievement gap
    for minority students. And we will not go back to the days of low
    expectations and mediocrity in our classrooms.
        We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health
    care affordable and accessible. We'll make sure the poor and the
    indigent get good health care in community health centers. We'll make
    sure our program for children of low-income families is fully
    subscribed. To make sure health care is affordable, we must allow

    [[Page 2840]]

    small businesses to join together across jurisdictional boundaries so
    they can buy insurance at the same discounts big companies are able to
    do. We will expand health savings accounts to help our small businesses
    and our families.
        And to make sure health care is available and affordable for
    citizens of Ohio, we will do something about the frivolous lawsuits that
    are running up the cost of health care. I have met too many ob-gyns who
    are having to leave practice because of increased premiums due to
    lawsuits. I have met too many expectant moms who are deeply concerned
    about getting the health care they need. This litigation problem is a
    national problem. You cannot be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-
    personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. My opponent has made his choice. He voted against medical liability
    reform 10 times and he put a personal-injury trial lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I have made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors
    of Ohio. I'm standing with the families of Ohio. I'm for medical
    liability reform.
        Senator Kerry has got a different idea
    about health care. You might remember in the debate when he looked
    square in the camera and he said about his health care plan, ``The
    Government didn't have anything to do with it.'' I could barely contain
    myself. [Laughter] The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty
    percent of the people who are signed up under his program end up on a
    Government plan. If you make it easier for people to be on Medicaid, it
    is likely small-business owners will drop insurance for their employees
    because the Government will provide it. See, you're moving people from
    the private sector to Government plans. When the Government writes the
    check, the Government makes the rules. And when the Government is making
    the rules about your health care, the Government starts making decisions
    for you and they make decisions for your doctors. The wrong prescription
    for American families is to federalize our health care. In all we do to
    improve our family's health care, we will make sure the decisions are
    made by doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.
        The fourth clear choice involves your retirement. Our Nation has
    made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social Security and
    Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to keep that
    commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug coverage. I
    kept my word. Medicare needed to be changed. See, we would pay thousands
    of dollars for a heart surgery but not one dime for the prescription
    drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
    first place. That didn't make any sense to our seniors. So I brought
    Republicans and Democrats together. We modernized Medicare for our
    seniors, and beginning in 2006, seniors will get prescription drug
    coverage under Medicare.
        And we'll keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and
    we will strengthen Social Security for generations to come. Now, you
    might remember the 2000 campaign when they started running those ads and
    putting out the leaflets and flyers that said this to our seniors: ``If
    George W. gets elected, our seniors will not get their checks.'' So when
    you're out there rounding up the vote, when you're working hard over the
    next 4 days, remind your friends and neighbors that George W. did get
    elected, and the seniors did get their checks. And our seniors will
    continue to get their checks. And baby boomers like me
    and Arnold--[laughter]--we're in
    pretty good shape when it comes to Social Security.
        But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We
    need to worry about whether Social Security will be there for them. And
    that is why I believe younger workers ought to be allowed to take some
    of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account, an account
    that earns a greater rate of interest, an account you own

    [[Page 2841]]

    and an account the Government can never take away.
        My opponent takes a different approach.
    You know, he said he's going to protect Social Security. But tell your
    friends and neighbors that he voted eight times for higher taxes on
    Social Security benefits.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Like on other issues, he
    can run, but he cannot hide.
        And he's offered nothing for the next
    generation when it comes to Social Security. The job of the President is
    to confront problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and
    future generations. In a new term, I will bring people together so that
    we modernize and strengthen Social Security for generations to come.
        The final choice in this election is on the values that are crucial
    to keeping our families strong. I believe marriage is a sacred
    institution. I will promote a culture of life and proudly signed the ban
    on partial-birth abortion. And I stand for the appointment of Federal
    judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
    interpretation of the law.
        All these choices make this one of the most important elections in
    our history. The security and prosperity of our country are at stake.
    The health of our families is at stake. The education of our children is
    at stake. And the direction of our culture is at stake. And the decision
    is in the best of hands. The decision is in the hands of the American
    people.
        One of my favorite quotes was written by a fellow Texan named Tom
    Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on the east side of the mountain. It is
    the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day
    that is coming, not to see the day that is gone.'' My opponent has spent much of this campaign talking about the day
    that is gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
        I see a day where prosperity reaches every corner of America. I see
    a day where every child is able to read and write and add and subtract.
    I see a day in which this world becomes more peaceful and we're able to
    achieve the peace we all dream for for our children and our
    grandchildren.
        When I campaigned across your State in 2000, I made you this pledge,
    that if I got elected, I would uphold the honor and the integrity of the
    office. With your help, with your hard work, I will do so for 4 more
    years.
        God bless. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:27 p.m. at the Nationwide Arena. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Gov.
    Bob Taft of Ohio and his wife, Hope; Carolyn Hobson, wife of
    Representative David Hobson; Lt. Gov. Jennette B. Bradley of Ohio; Chief
    Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Supreme Court of Ohio; Jo Ann Davidson,
    Ohio Valley regional chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; Doug Preisse,
    chairman, Franklin County Republican Party Executive Committee; Gen.
    Tommy R. Franks, USA (Ret.), former combatant commander, U.S. Central
    Command; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization;
    and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.